• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Nancy Reading
  • Carla Burke
  • r ranson
  • John F Dean
  • paul wheaton
  • Pearl Sutton
stewards:
  • Jay Angler
  • Liv Smith
  • Leigh Tate
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
  • Timothy Norton
gardeners:
  • thomas rubino
  • Jeremy VanGelder
  • Maieshe Ljin

What can I plant to provide privacy AND function

 
Posts: 4
Location: Arkansas
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I'm on 2 acreas in a ruralish area. I want to convert my lawn to food, but I want some privacy in the garden. My yard 100' x 75' with the long side being on the road. I thought about planting bamboo. I've used it in the past for trellising, and I'm always thinking of uses for it and wishing I had some. However, it seems less practical to plant bamboo when I already have access to over 1.5 acres of woods. (BTW I am well aware of the risks of planting bamboo, and I would plant with some kind of barrier. )

Is there another plant that will provide privacy while perhaps giving food? I would like to be able to benefit from this living screen within a year or two, as I do not know how long we will be at this property.

Thanks!
 
gardener
Posts: 5436
Location: Southern Illinois
1487
transportation cat dog fungi trees building writing rocket stoves woodworking
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hi Shai,

I have a living hedge that I trim up every year or two in order to make woodchips.  I own about 3 acres of woodland and 6 acres open, but I just cannot bring myself to haul much in the way of wood out of my woods.  But my hedgerow is actually invasive and needs trimming to prevent it from taking over my grass lands.

I guess I am thinking that your bamboo is more multi functional than you might think.

You could plant sweetshoot bamboo and eat the early shoots while you control the growth.

Another hedge that comes to mind are blueberry bushes.  They grow about 6’ tall, look beautiful and give you plenty of berries.

These are just a couple of thoughts,

Eric
 
pollinator
Posts: 3827
Location: Massachusetts, Zone:6/7 AHS:4 GDD:3000 Rainfall:48in even Soil:SandyLoam pH6 Flat
555
2
forest garden solar
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Privet


Check out some other ideas, let me know which one you like the best.
https://www.bobvila.com/slideshow/the-best-10-plants-to-grow-for-backyard-privacy-50057#arborvitae-hedge-in-the-backyard
 
Shai Jacob
Posts: 4
Location: Arkansas
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Eric Hanson wrote:Hi Shai,

I have a living hedge that I trim up every year or two in order to make woodchips.  I own about 3 acres of woodland and 6 acres open, but I just cannot bring myself to haul much in the way of wood out of my woods.  But my hedgerow is actually invasive and needs trimming to prevent it from taking over my grass lands.

I guess I am thinking that your bamboo is more multi functional than you might think.

You could plant sweetshoot bamboo and eat the early shoots while you control the growth.

Another hedge that comes to mind are blueberry bushes.  They grow about 6’ tall, look beautiful and give you plenty of berries.

These are just a couple of thoughts,

Eric



Thanks Eric. I checked out your Bamboo suggestion, and it looks promising. We are fortunate to have many huckleberry bushes around us. But your post did broaden my perspective. I started remembering how much I love to eat rosehips. I think we could start eating from them the 2nd year, like blueberries. Any tips on roses?
 
Shai Jacob
Posts: 4
Location: Arkansas
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

S Bengi wrote:Privet


Check out some other ideas, let me know which one you like the best.
https://www.bobvila.com/slideshow/the-best-10-plants-to-grow-for-backyard-privacy-50057#arborvitae-hedge-in-the-backyard



Thanks Bengi. I do love the smell of Privet, and I love that it grows fast and offers great privacy. I will keep it in mind, though I'm looking for something that offers a second use for us, such as food or fuel or building materials.
 
S Bengi
pollinator
Posts: 3827
Location: Massachusetts, Zone:6/7 AHS:4 GDD:3000 Rainfall:48in even Soil:SandyLoam pH6 Flat
555
2
forest garden solar
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Grape
 
pollinator
Posts: 3756
Location: 4b
1358
dog forest garden trees bee building
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Just another suggestion.  I wouldn't get caught up on the idea that you have to plant one thing. You can make a really useful and beautiful hedge by mixing species, or by taking S Bengi's idea of using privet, and then make a mixed species row directly inside it.  I don't know enough about bamboo to comment on that.

I'm creating a living fence right now that started with a row of Osage Orange as the main fence, but inside that with be a mixed species where the trees and bushes will be more randomly placed.  More diversity means more type of food species, as well as creating a much better habitat area for small creatures.
 
pollinator
Posts: 2339
Location: Denmark 57N
598
fungi foraging trees cooking food preservation
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Are you looking for evergreens? That makes it harder to get food off of them, but beach where the leaves cling all winter is pretty close and the young leaves in the spring are edible and taste nice. a very dense hedge of hawthorn or something similar will give some privacy all year round and provide leaves, flowers and berries.
 
steward
Posts: 16058
Location: USDA Zone 8a
4272
dog hunting food preservation cooking bee greening the desert
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Maybe several different shrubs together might work.

My suggestion would be rosemary.  I have it growing with roses.  Right now they are both the same height.

I liked the bamboo suggestion.  I have never grown it but love the look of it.

Another shrub that I like is both beautiful and useful is sumac.  I have not grown it and have only seen it growing wild.





https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumac



https://www.thekitchn.com/inside-the-spice-cabinet-sumac

Ground sumac is a versatile spice with a tangy lemony flavor, although more balanced and less tart than lemon juice. A small sprinkle also adds a beautiful pop of color to any dish

 
Eric Hanson
gardener
Posts: 5436
Location: Southern Illinois
1487
transportation cat dog fungi trees building writing rocket stoves woodworking
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Shai,

I am afraid I cannot help you with rose hips.  But an idea I like (and if you can get away with it) is a mixed hedge.  This could be one that provides privacy, wood, food, habitat for animals and possibly more.  My hedge provides all of these except food (though there were some wild blackberries that provided the most wonderful, sweet fruit).

I really love my hedge.  It was barely a hedge (1’ wide by about 3’ tall) when I moved in.  15 years later it is 10-20 feet wide by 30’ tall and is a highway for deer.

Eric
 
pollinator
Posts: 711
Location: West Yorkshire, UK
282
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Berberis is evergreen, has edible berries, and makes a nice hedge.  We don't really eat the berries off ours, though our chickens enjoy self-harvesting (the berries taste fine, but are small and seedy).  It's also great for birds and has beautiful flowers in spring.  I like it even better than the laurels we also have, which are also evergreen with sweet smelling flowers and very tolerant of trimming, though not edible.
 
Posts: 523
Location: SW PA USA zone 6a altitude 1188ft Grafter, veggie gardener
23
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
You might consider two rows; a row of evergreens and a row of mixed edibles. Apples, peaches, nuts, grapes. What you like. I'm thinking that a row of bamboo in time will take up more space than the double row. Don't plant evergreens that will grow immense, like I have here.
 
pollinator
Posts: 365
Location: Hamburg, Germany
119
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
A standard permie answer is anything from the elaeagnus family.  https://pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?LatinName=Elaeagnus+x+ebbingei is evergreen, mostly non-invasive, and the berries are supposed to be nice.  Mine are finally getting big enough to block my annoying neighbor but I haven't seen berries yet.  Maybe this year!  Also, it's survived in an area that has so far killed:  Camellia japonica and sinensis, pineapple guava, other elaeagnuseseses, and probably other things I've blocked out.  So I will take nice silvery leaves at least.

If you're thinking of a mixed hedge, maybe drop in a few camellias.  The sinensis leaves are your standard tea leaves, and while I believe the japonica leaves don't contain caffeine, you can make tea from them or eat the flowers.  The japonicas also bloom in winter, which is a nice gloom-brightener.
 
Shai Jacob
Posts: 4
Location: Arkansas
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Thank you all for the ideas. I'll be mulling them over for the next couple of months until fall. I should have mentioned that I'm in zone 7. We have a deep silty loam. The area is very wet in the spring until about May. Every so often we have a drought summer, and even when we don't the ground dries up in the summer. So I need something that can tolerate both wet soil and drought. It doesn't have to be evergreen, though I like the idea of layering in an evergreen. Also, i'm planning to move, (though I don't know if that's next year or 5 years from now). So, it would be nice to have something I can get cuttings or transplants for my new property which will be in the Ozarks, a soil that tends to be rocky and dry. That makes it tough. Sometimes, you just can't have everything, right?
 
life is short - but not as short as this ad:
turnkey permaculture paradise for zero monies
https://permies.com/t/267198/turnkey-permaculture-paradise-monies
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic